Gun hanger

ABSTRACT

In one form, the gun hanger has a tubular member terminate in a hook at its upper end and a plastic sleeve is received within the lower open end of the member. The sleeve and member are provided with downwardly opening laterally registering slots whereby the muzzle of a gun is received within the sleeve with the sight on the muzzle receivable within the slots. A thumb screw threads through the side of the tubular member and through the sleeve to engage and retain the gun barrel within the tubular member. In another form, semicylindrical sleeves lie in spaced relation one from the other by a wire cage terminate at its upper end in a hook. To retain the gun barrel within the semicylindrical members, a clasp is slidable along the cage to displace the half sleeves toward one another thereby to frictionally retain the gun muzzle between the members.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Ben Huver Laurel, Mont.

[21] Appl. No 785,623

[22] Filed Dec. 20, 1968 A continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 647,437, June 20, 1967, Patent No. 3,468,503

[45] Patented Jan. 19, 1971 [731 Assignees Daniel Korn, Sr.

a part interest; M rr t N-Wq dm r ere t; W l iam Q- A walterskerchen, Kalispell, Mont. a part interest [54] GUN HANGER 10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

521 user 248/317, 24/257; 21 1/64, 248/316, 248/360 51 1111.01 ..A47b$ 1/00, A47f5/00 50 FieldofSearch 248/113,

[56] References eited UNITED STATES PATENTS 520,053 5/1894 Hopkins 24/26OX 554,252 2/1896 Falk 211/64 Primary ExaminerChancellor E. Harris AttorneyLe Blanc and Shur ABSTRACT: In one form, the gun hanger has a tubular member terminate in a hook at its upper end and a plastic sleeve is received within the lower open end of the member. The sleeve and member are provided with downwardly opening laterally registering slots whereby the muule of a gun is received within the sleeve with the sight on the muzzle receivable within the slots. A thumb screw threads through the side of the tubular member and through the sleeve to engage and retain the gun barrel within the tubular member. in another form, semicylindrical sleeves lie in spaced relation one from the other by a wire cage terminate at its upper end in a hook. To retain the gun barrel within the semicylindrical members, a clasp is slidable along the cage to displace the half sleeves toward one another thereby to frictionally retain the gun muzzle between the members.

PATENTEU JAN 1 9 am SHEET 2 [IF 2 GUN HANGER This application is a continuation in part of my copending application Ser. No. 647,437 filed June 20, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,508. The present invention relates to supports and more particularly relates to a gun hanger adapted to support a gun by the end of its barrel in a depending vertical position from a hook or the like.

Prior supports for guns and the like have usually taken the form of a base support plate adapted to be secured to a wall and having a pair of support members projecting therefrom on which the gun may be disposed for display in a generally horizontal position. Other types'of gun supports have also been provided in the form of racks whereby a plurality of guns may be supported by a single rack with the butts of the guns lying on a horizontal base with the inclined vertically extending barrels received in slots horizontally spaced along upper portions of the rack. These types of gun suppons, however, have proven unsatisfactory in certain respects as the former type are primarily for display, require substantial construction, and are not usually provided in gun storage areas, for example, closets or the like while the latter type have great bulk,

are unwieldly and primarily utilized to store a great many guns. Moreover, there is always the possibility of marring the gun finish when placing the guns on racks of these types as well as the danger of dislodging the gun from the support and/or rack. There is thus a need for a single gun hanger which occupies a minimum amount of space which can be readily supported by a hook, rod or the like and which in no way mars or otherwise damages the gun.

The present invention eliminates 'and/or minimizes the above discussed problems associated with gun supports or hangers in current use and provides an improved gun hanger having various advantages in construction and use as compared with such prior gun supports or hangers. To accomplish this, the present invention, in one form, provides a tubular member opened at its lower end and terminate at its upper end in a hook adapted to be placed over a support element, for example, a horizontally disposed rod, hook or the like. A sleeve, formed of a material for example plastic, which will not or otherwise damage the barrel of a gun, is provided within the downwardly opening end of the tubular member, the tubular member and concentric sleeve having laterally registering downwardly opening slots. A thumb screw threads through the side of the tubular member and sleeve. In use, the muzzle of the gun is inserted within the tubular sleeve with the sight on the end of the barrel being received within the registering slots in the tubular member and sleeve. The thumb screw is then inwardly threaded to clamp the gun barrel to the hanger. The hook on the opposite end of the tubular member is then disposed over the supporting element and the gun is thus supported by the hanger in a depending vertical position.

In another form hereof, the gun hanger support comprises a pair of semicylindrical sleeves having correspondingly shaped semicylindrical linings. The sleeves and linings are normally disposed in spaced relation opposite one another by a cage which connects between the sleeves and a body member to which is connected a hook such that the gun hanger may depend from a support element as in the previously described embodiment hereof. The cage comprises a plurality of downwardly diverging rods depending from the body member and connected about the external surfaces of the semicylindrical sleeves, the rods normally spacing the sleeves one from the other. A clasp is slidably received about the rods and downward movement of the clasp along the rods displaced the normally outwardly diverging rods toward one another thereby moving the sleeves toward one and other to engage about the muzzle of the gun disposed therebetween. One of the sleeves and its associated lining have downwardly opening laterally registering slots to receive the sight on the end of the gun barrel similarly as in the previous embodiment. The clasp frictionally engages about the rods to retain the sleeves in position clamping about the muzzle of the gun. To release the muzzle, the clasp is displaced upwardly along the rods and their natural outward bias displaces the sleeves, one from the other, permitting the muzzle to be withdrawn from between the sleeves.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved support or hanger for guns and the like.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved gun hanger support cable of hanging guns of various types and having barrels of varying diameters.

It is still another object of thepresent invention to provide a support adapted to hang a gun in a depending vertical position.

It is a related object of the present invention to provide a gun hanger specifically configured to avoid damage to or otherwise interfere with the sight of the muzzle of the gun.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved gun hanger which is readily and easily applied to the gun and whereby the latter may be supported in a depending vertical position.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved gun hanger which is readily and easily manufactured at low cost.

These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification appended claims and drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gun hanger constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with parts broken out and in cross section and taken generally about on line 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken about on line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another form of gun hanger constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view thereof illustrating the hanger in a position supporting the muzzle of a gun; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view thereof taken generally about on line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a gun hanger constructed in accordance with the present invention and generally indicated at 10. Gun hanger 10 comprises a tubular member 11 having a closed upper end terminate in a hook 12. Tubular member 11 also includes a cylindrical recess 13 opening through the lower end thereof as seen in FIG. 3 and receiving a cuplike cylindrical member or lining 14 which is suitably secured within recess 13 as by an epoxy or the like. Member 14 has a diameter sufficient to receive the muzzle of a gun which is schematicallyillustrated as at 15 and has a front sight 16. Tubular member 11 is preferably formed of cast metal although it may be otherwise formed and of other materials, whereas lining 14 is preferably formed of a material, such as plastic, rubber or the like, which will not mar or otherwise damage the muzzle of a gun.

To accommodate front sight 16 within hanger 10 without marring or otherwise damaging the sight per se, it is a particular feature of the present invention that a pair of laterally registering downwardly opening slots are formed through the lining 14 and tubular member 11 as to leave a downwardly opening recess 17 through the side of hanger 10 for receiving the sight 16. When the gun is to be supported by the hanger 10, the end of the gun barrel or muzzle is inserted within the cylindrical lining 14 with the sight 16 being aligned with recess 17 as to be receivable therein. To retain the gun barrel within the hanger 10, a thumb screw 18 is threadedly received laterally through the tubular member 11 and through an aligned opening formed through lining 14. Nonmarring material, such as rubber or plastic, may be provided on the inner tip of thumb screw 18 and it will be seen that, when thumb screw 18 threads into the tubular member 11, the end of the gun barrel 15 is thus clamped within the sleeve 14. The gun 15 may then be disposed in a vertically depending position by engaging the hook 12 of hanger 10 about a supporting element, for example, the rod 19 which may comprise the clothes rod in a closet. Note that hanger per se occupies a minimum of space and can be supported from any type of hook, nail or the like, thus facilitatingthe hanging of the gun in any convenient location as desired.

In another form of the invention hereof illustrated in FlGS. 5-7, there is shown a gun hanger having a cylindrical body portion 30 with a central bore opening through its upper face adapted to threadedly receive the lower threaded end of a hook 32. A cage generally indicated at 33 depends from and is supported by body member 30 and comprises a plurality of rods 34 preferably four in number which are suitably secured to the under face of body member 30, for example, by threading the upper ends of the rods into corresponding downwardly opening threaded bores in body member 30. Rods 34 are preferably secured to body member 30 such, that rods 34 diverge one from the other in a downward direction and each pairs of rods support semicylindrical gripping member 35 at their lower ends. Gripping members 35 lie in spaced relation opposite one another and extend about generally parallel axes. The lower end portions of rods 34 extend about the outer surfaces of members 35 and are suitably secured thereto as by soldering or the like indicated at 37. Such lower end portions of rods 34 are preferrably bent slightly inwardly as to lie in substantially parallel relation when members 35 are spaced one from the other as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Gripping members 35 comprise half sleeves 36and a pair of complementary semicylindrical linings 38 are suitably secured as by an epoxy or the like along the inner faces of the respective sleeves 36. Each lining 38 preferably comprises a plurality of axially spaced, inwardly extending, annular flange portions 40. Linings 38 may be formed of a suitable nonmarring material such as rubber, plastic or the like similarly as lining 14 is formed in the previous embodiment. A downwardly and laterally opening slot 42 is formed through the sleeve and lining subassembly of one of the gripping members 35, slot 42 being adapted to receive the front sight 16 on the end of the gun barrel when the latter is received between the semicylindrical gripping members 35.

The rods 34 are fixed to body member 38 such that the pair of rods mounting the gripping members 35 diverge one from the other to normally space gripping members 35 one from the other a sufficient distance as to permit the reception of a gun muzzle therebetween. In order to displace gripping members 35 toward one and other and thereby retain the muzzle of the gun therebetween in a manner to be described, a wire clasp 44 is disposed about cage 33 for axial sliding movement therealong. Clasp 44 comprises an intermediate wire portion 45 extending alone one side of the cage 33 between the pairs of rods 34 which connect with the respective gripping members 35 and end wire portions 46 which engage externally about each pair of rods 34. One end portion 46 is bent about its associated rod 34 as at 47 to retain clasp 44 slidably connected to the cage while the free end of the other end portion 46 is bent about the rod 34 associated with the other pair of rods as at 48 such that the four rods are fully encompassed by clasp 44 at all axial positions of clasp 44 along cage 33. It will be appreciated that movement of clasp 44 along rods 34 in an upward direction as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 permits the pairs of rods to diverge outwardly one from the other under their natural bias and locate the gripping members 35 in spaced relation one from the other as illustrated in FIG. 5. Downward movement of clasp 44 along the rods 34 displaces the oppositely disposed pairs of rods 34 inwardly toward one another against their natural outward bias to move gripping members 35 toward one another.

To support a gun from the form of gun hanger illustrated in F IGS. 5-7, the clasp 44 is moved upwardly to naturally space gripping members 36 one from the other as seen in FIG. 5. The end of the gun barrel is then disposed between the gripping members 36. Note that the gripping members 36 are sufficiently spaced as to secure the muzzles of various types of guns having barrels of various diameters. The clasp 44 is then moved axially downwardly along the rods 34 thereby'moving 35, the barrel and/or support is manipulated such that the front sight 16 is receivable within the slot 42 formed through the one gripping member 36. The linings 38 are flexible and compress slightly to frictionally retain the end of the gun barrel in the hanger. The clasp 44 frictionally engages about rods 34 in a manner illustrated in FIG. 6 to retain the end of the gun barrel within the gripping members. The gun can then be disposed in a vertically depending position from a supporting element, for example, the rod 19, by engaging the hook 32 over the supporting element similarly as in the previous form. To release the gun from the hanger, clasp 44 is moved upwardly along cage 33 thereby permitting the gripping members 35 to diverge each from the other under the outward bias of the'rods 34 and permitting the gun to be withdrawn from between the spaced members 35.

It is thus seen that the objects of the present invention are fully accomplished in that there has been provided an improved gun hanger which is compatible with various types of guns having different diameters and which is adapted to support the guns without marring or otherwise damaging the barrel finish or the sight on the barrelend. Note that the improved hanger in each of the forms hereof can be readily and easily manufactured at low cost and from materials which are readily available. I

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

lclaim:

l, A gun hanger comprising a pair of oppositely disposed substantially semicylindrical tubular gripping members extending generally about parallel axes and lying in laterally spaced relation one from the other, said members being adapted to receive the end of a gun barrel therebetween, a body member, support means carried by said body member, means connecting said body member and said gripping mem bers and mounting the latter for movement toward and away from one another, means carried by said connecting means for moving said gripping members toward one another for engagement about the gun barrel, and complementary semicylindrical linings carried within said tubular members for preventing scarring of the gun barrel, the tubular member and its associated lining comprising one of said gripping members having laterally registering slots opening through one end thereof for receiving the site on the end of the gun barrel.

2. A gun hanger comprising a pair of oppositely disposed substantially semicylindrical tubular gripping members extending generally about parallel axes and lying in laterally spaced relation one from the other, said members being adapted to receive the end of a gun barrel therebetween, a body member, support means carried by said body member, means connecting said body member and said gripping member and mounting the latter for movement toward and away from one another, means carried by said connecting means for moving said gripping members toward one another for engagement about the gun barrel, and complementary semicylindrical linings carried within said tubular members for preventing scarring of the gun barrel, said connecting means including a pair of rods connecting between said body member and each of said gripping members, said pairs of rods diverging one from the other normally space said gripping members one from the other, said moving means including a member substantially encompassing said pairs of rods and movable substantially axially along said rods to move the pairs of rods and the associated gripping means toward one another.

3. A gun hanger comprising a pair of semicylindrical tubular gripping members lying in laterally spaced relation one from the other and adapted to receive the end of a gun barrel therebetween, said semicylindrical members having axes extending substantially parallel one to the other, a body member symmetrically arranged about an axis parallel to the axes of said members, said latter axis lying in a plane containing said axes, support means carried by said body member, means connecting said body member and said gripping member and mounting the latter for movement toward and away from one another, and means carried by said connecting means for moving said gripping members toward one another for engagement about the gun barrel thereby to provide a substantially uniform gripping force about the gun barrel and on diametrically opposed sides thereof.

4. A gun hanger comprising a body including a pair of generally semicylindrical gripping members lying in laterally spaced relation one from the other and adapted to receive the end of a gun barrel therebetween, said semicylindrical members having axes extending substantially parallel one to the other, support means carried by the body, said body being symmetrically arranged about an axis parallel to the axes of said members with said latter axis lying in a plane containing said axes, said body being configured to carry said gripping members for movement toward and away from one another. and means carried by said body for moving said gripping members toward one another for engagement about the gun barrel end.

5. A gun hanger according to claim 4 wherein each of said gripping members comprises a substantially halftubular sleeve having a lining of protective material about the concave surface thereof facing the other gripping member for protecting the gun barrel.

6. A gun hanger according to claim 3 including complementary semicylindrical linings carried within said tubular members for preventing scarring of the gun barrel.

7. A gun hanger according to claim 6 wherein said connecting means includes at least one rod connecting between said body member and the associated gripping member, said rods diverging one from the other to thereby normally space said gripping members one from the other, said moving means including a clasp movable substantially axially along said rods to move the latter and said gripping means toward one another.

8. A gun hanger according to claim 2 wherein said linings have axially spaced inwardly extending ribs for gripping about the end of the gun barrel.

9. A gun hanger according to claim 4 wherein said body is elongated with said gripping members being disposed adjacent one end of said body. said moving means being movable along said body in one direction for moving said gripping members toward one another.

10. A gun hanger according to claim 9 wherein said moving means is movable toward said one end of said body for moving said gripping members toward one another, said moving means being movable along said body in the opposite direction to permit movement of said gripping members away from one another. 

1. A gun hanger comprising a pair of oppositely disposed substantially semicylindrical tubular gripping members extending generally about parallel axes and lying in laterally spaced relation one from the other, said members being adapted to receive the end of a gun barrel therebetween, a body member, support means carried by said body member, means connecting said body member and said gripping members and mounting the latter for movement toward and away from one another, means carried by said connecting means for moving said gripping members toward one another for engagement about the gun barrel, and complementary semicylindrical linings carried within said tubular members for preventing scarring of the gun barrel, the tubular member and its associated lining comprising one of said gripping members having laterally registering slots opening through one end thereof for receiving the site on the end of the gun barrel.
 2. A gun hanger comprising a pair of oppositely disposed substantially semicylindrical tubular gripping members extending generally about parallel axes and lying in laterally spaced relation one from the other, said members being adapted to receive the end of a gun barrel therebetween, a body member, support means carried by said body member, means connecting said body member and said gripping member and mounting the latter for movement toward and away from one another, means carried by said connecting means for moving said gripping members toward one another for engagement about the gun barrel, and complementary semicylindrical linings carried within said tubular members for preventing scarring of the gun barrel, said connecting means including a pair of rods connecting between said body member and each of said gripping members, said pairs of rods diverging one from the other normally space said gripping members one from the other, said moving means including a member substantially encompassing said pairs of rods and movable substantially axially along said rods to move the pairs of rods and the associated gripping means toward one another.
 3. A gun hanger comprising a pair of semicylindrical tubular gripping members lying in laterally spaced relation one from the other and adapted to receive the end of a gun barrel therebetween, said semicylindrical members having axes extending substantially parallel one to the other, a body member symmetrically arranged about an axis parallel to the axes of said members, said latter axis lying in a plane containing said axes, support means carried by said body member, means connecting said body member and said gripping member and mounting the latter for movement toward and away from one another, and means carried by said connecting means for moving said gripping members toward one another for engagement about the gun barrel thereby to provide a substantially uniform gripping force about the gun barrel and on diametrically opposed sides thereof.
 4. A gun hanger comprising a body including a pair of generally semicylindrical gripping members lying in laterally spaced relation one from the other and adapted to receive the end of a gun barrel therebetween, said semicylindrical members having axes extending substantially parallel one to the other, support means carried by the body, said body being symmetrically arranged about an axis parallel to the axes of said members with said latter axis lying in a plane containing said axes, said body being configured to carry said gripping members for movement toward and away froM one another, and means carried by said body for moving said gripping members toward one another for engagement about the gun barrel end.
 5. A gun hanger according to claim 4 wherein each of said gripping members comprises a substantially half tubular sleeve having a lining of protective material about the concave surface thereof facing the other gripping member for protecting the gun barrel.
 6. A gun hanger according to claim 3 including complementary semicylindrical linings carried within said tubular members for preventing scarring of the gun barrel.
 7. A gun hanger according to claim 6 wherein said connecting means includes at least one rod connecting between said body member and the associated gripping member, said rods diverging one from the other to thereby normally space said gripping members one from the other, said moving means including a clasp movable substantially axially along said rods to move the latter and said gripping means toward one another.
 8. A gun hanger according to claim 2 wherein said linings have axially spaced inwardly extending ribs for gripping about the end of the gun barrel.
 9. A gun hanger according to claim 4 wherein said body is elongated with said gripping members being disposed adjacent one end of said body, said moving means being movable along said body in one direction for moving said gripping members toward one another.
 10. A gun hanger according to claim 9 wherein said moving means is movable toward said one end of said body for moving said gripping members toward one another, said moving means being movable along said body in the opposite direction to permit movement of said gripping members away from one another. 